This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
On July 3, 2019, Sudan's protest leaders and ruling generals resumed talks in Khartoum over forming a new governing body, a key demand of demonstrators who have rallied against the generals for weeks.
The talks came after African Union and Ethiopian mediators called on the two sides to resume negotiations on a transition to civilian rule.
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy chief of the army council and chief of the Rapid Support Forces, was among the three military negotiators.
Earlier on July 3, the umbrella protest movement said it was ready for the talks, with prominent protest leader Madani Abbas Madani stating that one of the conditions for the talks was to reach a decision within 72 hours.
After several hours of talks, the parties decided to continue negotiations on July 4, 2019.
"The parties conducted responsible negotiations and agreed on some issues," African Union mediator Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt said.
"There's a decision taken to release all political detainees and that negotiations will continue tomorrow."
"The Alliance for Freedom and Change met and decided to accept the invitation for direct negotiations" with the generals, Madani Abbas Madani told reporters. On June 3, 2019, a brutal crackdown on a longstanding protest camp in Khartoum killed dozens of demonstrators, further escalating tensions. At least 136 people have been killed across the country since the crackdown, including more than 100 on June 3, according to doctors close to the umbrella protest movement. The health ministry says 78 people have been killed nationwide over the same period. On Sunday, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in a mass protest against the generals, seen as a test for the protest leaders' ability to mobilise crowds. On Monday, protest leaders upped the pressure on the generals by calling for a similar mass protest on July 13, to be followed by a nationwide civil disobedience campaign a day later.
